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Well first Id like to say Hello from Durango Colorado. Ive been into r/c for about three years now rotary/fixed aircraft and lately cars and crawlers. I work for a LHS and got in a few kites to have on the shelves. Needless to say once I got my hands on a Skydog Kites Freebird and felt the wind i was HOOKED! That was about a week ago, after many nosedives into terrafirma, 3 broken spars(new ones in the mail!) countless youtube videos and tutorials, and waiting for wind which is stubborn around here I know ill be doing this forever!

Does anyone have pics of their bridle set ups? Im not sure what mine should look like or what exactly to adjust when i make a "bridle adjustment". Ive broken all my rods so the last time i tried to fly with my repaired ones it wasnt pretty I have new ones on the way But nonetheless i tried to make some adjustments and am not sure how it SHOULD look. Anyone got any pointers?

I looked at a few forums and decided to join here based on the activity and input i was reading. Look forward to being part of the community and learning new tricks with my Kite!!

Is that why Im not reading much info about these kites? I thought maybe they were thought of as inferior LolThanks for the replys guys. anyone have close up shots of the area where all the lines come together in the bridle?

The Skydog kites are considered "less expensive" as they are produced in quantity by another company for Skydog.

The quality is fairly good for kites at these price points. But they are not at the quality level, nor do they fly and trick as well, as the higher end kites made by what we like to call "boutique" kite shops like Blue Moon, Benson or Jest of Eve to name just a few.

As far as close-ups of the bridle tow point area.... that will be surprising to see due to the fact that the kite is so new and smaller than most of the pilots here prefer to fly.

The middle leg bridle leg should be removable first as it really doesn't come into play until winds pick up. That leg should be just slightly loose when the other 3 are all taut at the same time. If you haven't messed with the other side, you should be able to measure the good side. Barring that, you may be able to measure or look at another bridle where you got yours.

Here is a collection of bridle information I gathered from various other websites.If you click on the photo, you will be taken to a larger version which you can download and keep on your computer. Good luck.

Awesome! Great info there chilese thank you. Im going to get out to the pasture when the winds good tommorow morning and see what i can come up with. I feel like it might be pointless tho since im not sure if my repairs to the poles prevent enough flex. I wrapped the cracked area with string and applied epoxied, but it hasnt actually flown since then (that could be mine AND the winds fault tho)

Hey DDK...I love that corner of Colorado ! Purgatory was a favorite stop of mine when I'd visit. It sounds like you're going to need a light wind kite to go along with your standard. Wait until you ask that question... There are a few other users on the forum from other parts of CO. They may understand your unique wind conditions the best.Good luck with your new addiction !~Rob.

We have pretty descent wind here its just a little blustery and not like a smooth off-shore breeze. Im sure Ill have a "bag" like the rest of you guys, so ill always have something that will fly! Its great living in such an amazing place that it stays with people their whole lives in memories! Ive lived here in durango for2 years now after leaving the hustle and bustle of PHX life....now im kind of wanting to live by the beach! Thanks for the replies guys Ill see if i can get a pic of my setup today when i try to fly, so maybe someone can say....yeah it looks good go fly or.....nope not gonna work.

Well I happened to go into a local outdoor store yesterday and low and behold....they have Prism Kites! I couldnt believe it. Almost walked out with a Nexus or one of those small foils for 60$ but decided id better wait and do some saving and research. Also have a feeling that i might be giving my business to a vendor here instead, its not like they had parts in stock so thats not a big issue.

Hate double or uhh triple posting but..... Not too happy with the repair job and havent really had a chance to seriously try to fly since ive been securing employment this week.Does the line/larkspur knot furthest to the left in this pic stay kind of loose and free on the line? above the knot that the other is securely cinched around?Which line do you "adjust" when making "bridal adj" You guys are all probably laughin at me but im trying to learn!!!

OK that center outhaul has to have the larkshead placed above the bottom knot, 3rd picture, the other side of the knot your middle finger is next to. That line may not be tight under no or light loads as John C's pictures confirm.

Your adjustment is going to be along the line that runs from the center T (where the bottom spreaders are connected in the center) to the upper outhaul (connected at the upper spreader to leading edge connector). Look at that line real close, is there any indication of a factory marking? That would be your starting point. You'll loosen that larkshead and tighten by pulling either the top or bottom line to tighten.

Comparing your picture to the ones John C posted it looks like on Johns the bridle is actually connected to the spine above the center T, that is not really common practice and yours is connected the more common way so the lines come over the center T. But if it really goes above that would change the way the kite flies. Maybe somebody can confirm that location or maybe John & Kent put their lines under the T rather then over as a personal preference, doing so wouldn't alter the flight as much as if the line was in the wrong place on the spine.

It's not the way I would build that bridle myself but let's get you flying before you start tying complete new bridles.

Logged

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see" John W Lennon

"People do not quit playing because they grow old, they grow old because they quit playing" George Bernard Shaw

well......she flew fine. Pulled off my first landing at the edge of the window!!! super phsyked about that one, tons of spins succesfully, an axel/540 lookin thing, and lots of lawn darts..which lead to a broke LE doh!! Guess ill try to ghetto rig that one tooIm thinking maybe i should pick up one of those prism snapshots they have downtown since they have no frame.

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